AI will create a permanent underclass

They haven't taken our music so that they can use our music … They're making something so that we can be obsolete.

AI may instead exacerbate inequality, eliminating some lower- and middle-income jobs while boosting the income and wealth of higher-income individuals. Since we don't know which of these futures will come about, it is useful to use potential scenario...

Workers should not be the test subjects or casualties of unchecked automation, nor should AI give employers a blank check to surveil workers, replace human judgment with unaccountable algorithms, or eliminate jobs while shifting the costs onto worker...

Foundational models are built and controlled elsewhere. Left to drift, the benefits concentrate where capability already sits, while the risks of job displacement, biased systems, extracting of data for value generation, and new dependencies fall on ...

If left solely to market forces, AI will naturally evolve around the world's largest languages, leaving many communities on the margins of the AI economy.

If AI can do all work at human level or better, what stops corporations replacing us all with AI? This is the permanent underclass meme.

The single most serious risk companies face if they significantly eliminate entry-level jobs in favour of AI is the weakening of the talent and succession pipeline needed to sustain future growth. Many organizations are already grappling with talent ...

The most serious risk is that an organization's talent quietly stops evolving. Entry-level roles are not simply a cost line; they are an engine of renewal. When young people work alongside experienced colleagues, something more than knowledge transfe...

Many companies are tempted to eliminate entry-level roles in favour of AI, to drive immediate productivity gains. They reason, not incorrectly, that much of the rote work that’s done by junior employees can be easily automated. But this short-term pe...

The social impact of removing the entry level is like removing the staircase connecting the ground and second floors of a building, while expecting the rest of the floors to remain populated and relevant. When the path and number of good jobs narrow,...

We are witnessing the birth of America’s next underclass: a permanent, tech-illiterate sub-stratosphere of the workforce.

AI and humanoid robots break that logic because they are general-purpose. Yes, the disruption will create new jobs. The problem is that AI and robots will be able to do those new jobs too.

One of the things we talk about as sociologists who study work is this idea about work moving from the career to the job to the gig. And AI makes it even easier to do that.

Tech billionaires, by contrast, openly anticipate the rise of a semi-permanent underclass as advanced systems eliminate tens of millions of jobs, concentrating wealth and power in the hands of existing capital holders and AI companies.

Without government intervention, she worries AI will create a permanent underclass of workers.

We have a short window of opportunity to shape the AI revolution so that it enhances and supports jobs, rather than destroying and undermining them, and it is right that government are bringing employers and unions together to think through these iss...

For some time now, we have seen Silicon Valley technoreactionaries dreaming of a world where they would create a colony on Mars, while an ultra-impoverished population remains on Earth because artificial intelligence would have destroyed many jobs: t...

Economies that lack the physical, digital, and institutional foundations needed to benefit from AI risk being left behind.

We need to take action now to protect against AI’s potentially disastrous effects: millions of layoffs, a huge increase in economic inequality, and the creation of a large, new underclass.

We are not looking at another Industrial Revolution; labor itself becomes optional for the economy.

How AI Will Create a “Permanent Underclass”

The same greedy corporate power brokers today want us to believe that killing millions of jobs in the name of AI will be a good thing, and the working class knows better. If AI is just created to finish the job and completely wipe out the rest of the...

As a statement of principle, I believe it. In practice, it’s hard. But in principle, if you can track what a worker does for long enough, eventually you learn to do what they’re doing. If I can observe enough examples and have enough computing power ...

AI is already changing how people work, and it's bringing real risks: massive job losses, increased workplace surveillance, and weaker bargaining power for workers. We need to get ahead of it.

Eventually this gap will be so wide, that the people who haven’t adopted AI will have 0 economic power. They will be stuck with what they have. It will be over.

If the five-day workweek with five days of pay shrinks to four days with four days of pay, and then to three, and to two, and perhaps one, AI will supplant most people’s work and drive down our take-home pay.

AI has the potential of automating almost all tasks in white-collar jobs within the next 12 to 18 months.

This is not labour displacement like previous technologies, but a wholesale drop-in replacement of tens of per cent of the labour force.

The basic goal is to render humans obsolete and take all of their jobs.

Failure, in their eyes, means being left behind while AI automates large swaths of white-collar work – especially coding jobs, which until now have been a veritable licence to print money – and falling into the ranks of the permanent poor.

70% think AI will lead to fewer jobs. They are right.

As AI tools become more widespread, the U.S. labor market is forming a polarization: the gap between those who can harness AI and those who cannot will create a permanent underclass.

We must be intentional and make collective, democratic choices, rather than letting market forces play out and risking leaving most citizens behind.

There is no evidence to date of broad AI-driven labour-market upheaval in Australia. The evidence is best read as an early indication of some modest slowing in employment growth in some highly exposed occupations, not proof of large AI-driven job los...

In the future, it is true that there is a scenario in which there is mass unemployment. But it is also true that when there have been huge upheavals previously, labour markets have adapted, albeit over time, and sometimes it is that gap that makes th...

Followed to its end, the underconsumption logic does reach “a permanent underclass is a stable equilibrium,” but measured reliability gaps pull the near-term shape back to a ratcheting Minsky cycle: partial substitution punctuated by financial crises...

Under one plausible theory of technological development, artificial intelligence will turn the economy into a dystopian split screen. As AI becomes capable of replacing an ever larger share of human work, the companies selling it will grow astronomic...

Still, he fears AI’s potential to undercut wages, increase unemployment, and immiserate young people, particularly the ones who pay a fortune for a useless college degree.

AI could create significant unemployment if humans do not adapt fast enough; it could create malign new forms of inequality too.

AI and related technologies will transform whole sectors of the economy. It will both disrupt and create. It will disrupt existing jobs, but also create new jobs.

But at the same time we should recognize that there’s a decent possibility that, despite all our efforts, AI still causes significant enduring job loss—and that this may be an intrinsic property of the technology and the way it broadly replicates hum...

For now, AI is not (yet) destroying jobs at scale. Even in advanced economies, only a small share of roles currently face a high risk of full automation. Instead, AI is reshaping how work is organised, who benefits, and who is left behind.

AI could hollow out jobs, reshape them gradually, create entirely new ones—or do all three at once. The case for starting to act now doesn’t depend on knowing which.

AI is neither inherently beneficial nor inherently harmful in the context of work. Its effects depend on interacting factors, including human capacities, job design, organizational practices, and trust.

the evidence on how AI is affecting the labor market today is inconclusive, and claims about harmful impacts on particular groups of workers are premature.

Where we are right now is that AI is not having a large impact on hiring. That's not surprising. [...] Just because something is likely not happening right now does not mean that it can't happen next year, three years, five years [from now].

This transition could create new opportunities, but it could also come with some costs. In a recent speech, I discussed the possibility that job displacement may precede job creation such that the unemployment rate may rise and participation in the l...

These trends are not inevitable. Policy choices made today can turn disruption into opportunity.

AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years. This could drive an unprecedented transformation of our economy, larger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame. It could bring risks, including larg...

Artificial intelligence will change how millions of Americans earn a living, and we must ensure AI catalyzes upward mobility and preserves the dignity of work.

But I think humans will reflect back and I don't know exactly how long, but we'll really be like, “Wow, okay, this really did help get us into our best forms.”

As this digital revolution progresses, the job economy is changing, but the mantra that AI is taking our jobs is simply not correct.

Despite concerns of AI-driven job losses, a new study from JLL finds that a majority of senior business leaders expect their workforces to grow (60%), not shrink (40%) – similarly, most expect AI to reinvent human roles (60%), rather than replace the...

The value is not showing up evenly; it is concentrated in more complex work where people are applying expertise, judgment, and business context on top of AI.

As AI agents continue to proliferate, the advantage for talent will come from becoming an AI Orchestrator, someone that can direct, integrate, and be accountable for agents across complex workflows.

Five years from now, I believe AI will create more jobs than it eliminates.

But the doomsday case rests on a flawed arithmetic: If AI can do 40 percent of a job’s tasks, then 40 percent of the work must go. But a job is not a to-do list of separable chores.

The likelihood is that AI will not so much replace jobs, as make certain tasks easier and quicker for some people.

With the right skills, workers stand to benefit from emerging job opportunities created by AI, provided the risks are addressed in tandem.

Harnessing the benefits of GenAI requires more than access to technology. Productivity gains depend on investments in human capital and social protection. Ultimately, future labour market outcomes will depend less on exposure alone than on the policy...

The DCO Ethical AI Guidebook for Policymakers exists to close that gap: to put practical tools in the hands of every government, so that AI becomes a trusted engine of digital prosperity for all.

AI alone will not create divides. As with any human creation, it can concentrate power or it can distribute opportunities.

Our objective is clear: to harness AI as a catalyst for economic transformation while ensuring it is ethical, safe, and aligned with our constitutional values.

Bangladesh believes that safe, secure, and trustworthy AI must begin with a human-centric approach, one that respects human values, protects rights, and delivers benefits for all.

It is extremely important to recognize that AI can be and must be a powerful force for growth, for sustainable development, and for inclusion.

They are not going to take away your jobs. They just leave more time instead of doing stupid things, doing some smart things.

Workers need access to lifelong learning, reskilling, upskilling, and credible transitions to new forms of employment.

The report does not conclude that AI will lead to mass unemployment. The evidence is more nuanced. Labor market effects are better understood through tasks, new work creation, and job quality.

The Global Digital Compact gave the multilateral system two things it never had before: an independent scientific panel to assess AI's impacts and opportunities, and a global dialogue where every government has a seat at the table.

Global AI governance is essential to protect all voices, empower all cultures, and guarantee that innovation reflects the full breadth of human culture.

Leveraging the convening power of the UN, we must start transforming artificial intelligence into a global public good that benefits all of humanity while ensuring safety by design and meaningful human oversight.

This Global Dialogue is not merely about regulating a technology. It is about defining a shared vision in which technological progress goes hand in hand with human dignity, equity, and sustainable development.

For AI to benefit all people, technology and international cooperation must move forward together.

I think we should be very skeptical about saying that it's going to destroy work and not create work along the way.

We're not expecting that displaced workers will be displaced over the long run. We do expect that ultimately there are going to be more than enough jobs created to reabsorb workers back into the labor market.

It’s helping to increase productivity, add jobs and bolster the U.S. economy.

AI will play a major role in the future of work, business, and economic competitiveness. This roadmap positions North Carolina to help workers build new skills, help businesses responsibly adopt new tools, and help communities prepare for the economy...

Artificial intelligence is already changing how we work, learn, and serve the people of our state, and North Carolina must lead with urgency and care. This roadmap gives our state a strategy to protect people from harm, prepare our workforce for oppo...

Technological progress has created more jobs than it has destroyed.

Marylanders are concerned about how quickly artificial intelligence is moving, and they want to know what it means for their jobs, their families, and their future. That’s why my administration is moving with urgency to empower and strengthen our wor...

It will give us valuable insight into workforce trends so we can better connect Californians with the resources, training, and support they need to succeed.

The AI-Unemployment Tracker provides us with a clearer picture of how AI is affecting working people and jobs, and where we need to focus support and training. By grounding our decisions in data, we can respond early and strengthen pathways into good...

If we build the best AI systems in the world and leave millions of Americans behind, we won’t have won anything; we’ll have automated our own decline. I believe AI will create new jobs and industries over time, but the transition could be disruptive,...

Right now, we are not seeing evidence of large-scale AI-related layoffs in California’s labor market. But we do see patterns in certain regions like the Bay Area, in certain tech-heavy sectors, and among highly AI-exposed workers with college degrees...

I suspect if you just trend it, that 35 things now goes to 300 things over the next thousand years. There's going to be more ways in which we allocate time.

The companies winning this transition aren't replacing workers with AI, they're multiplying human judgment at scale.

Our objective is to ensure that workers and businesses are well-positioned to benefit from AI-driven transformation, and ensure that we have a positive workplace culture to bring us forward in the next couple of decades.

The growth of AI and automation does not automatically translate to widespread job displacement.

At the Labor Department, we believe the greatest challenge posed by AI is not job displacement, but the speed of change. That is why we are investing in AI literacy and workforce training programs to help workers adapt and benefit from these advancem...

The AI-born economy is a redefinition of human work. The jobs that did not exist yesterday are not replacements for human effort. They are expressions of it, built for a world where machines handle the predictable and people handle everything else. T...

I totally disagree with this point of view. And I think, in fact, AI is going to create a labor shortage.

Across the global economy, we’re beginning to see a new divide emerge between different models for talent and value creation. The companies seeing the greatest returns on AI are using it to amplify human expertise, accelerate innovation and create en...

Companies most able to use AI are seeing faster headcount growth than the least AI-exposed companies (52% vs 36%) and higher wage growth (24% vs 17%).

While AI is changing the workforce, current evidence indicates it is doing so by shifting and creating jobs, not replacing them.

I want them to see something that they can be part of. Something that creates opportunity… That is hopeful… Not just for those who work in technology… Not just for those who work in London… But for people in every part of this country.

At the first-ever AI Adoption Summit, government is bringing together major tech companies, trade unions and industry leaders to drive the adoption of AI in ways that boost growth while creating new opportunities for workers and supporting them with ...

AI has huge potential to create more good jobs. We’re seeing this already through the 15,000 jobs being created in our AI Growth Zones, and through the success of brilliant British companies like Sage, Wayve and Graphcore.

With AI Native Youth, we have created a clear and direct pathway for this: a route, with support and visibility that simply doesn’t exist for many young people, which is why we have so many who are NEET. I am on a mission to bring a systemic solution...

Young people deserve every opportunity to build a meaningful career, and that means making sure no one is left behind as our economy changes and technology advances.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform every aspect of our lives for the better, including how we all work and learn and how governments deliver services and grow the economy. With AI for All, we are making sure that the benefits of t...

Canada’s AI future is powered by workers. As AI is changing the future of work, we are supporting workers to adapt with it. Through this new AI strategy, we're equipping workers with the tools they need to strengthen their skills and helping them sei...

AI is here. The question is whether it will improve the lives of all Canadians or benefit only a few. AI can shorten our emergency room wait times and make a small business more competitive, if it is governed by Canadian values with a clear goal of i...

The future of work will not be determined by technology alone, but by the policies, institutions and social dialogue that guide it.

There is zero evidence of job losses because of AI.

People talk about AI reducing jobs — complete nonsense. It’s causing more software engineers to be hired, and the reason for that is very simple. [...] If you can hire a software engineer and you could generate $9 trillion worth of productive work, w...

By providing small businesses with the support they need to adopt innovation and compete in a rapidly changing economy, we are helping them grow, create jobs and build stronger communities across our state.

The new data shows that most jobs are expected to evolve, not disappear, which makes training our workforce and ensuring adaptability essential to future success.

California recognizes our responsibility to ensure workers are prepared for success as AI reshapes the economy. Women, in particular, face disproportionate risks of displacement and widening economic inequality as AI evolves. So, California is commit...

[W]e must think bigger. This moment demands that we reimagine the entire system — how we work, how we govern, how we prepare people for the future — and that work is starting right here in the Golden State. Today is just the first step as we rewrite ...

AI must translate into good jobs and opportunities. This is central to Singapore’s refreshed economic strategy under the Economic Strategy Review. Growth remains essential. But in an age of AI and automation, growth may no longer generate jobs in the...

AI is ultimately going to result in more job gains than losses, but in the process it’s going to break down millions of careers.

We are committed to ensuring that AI does not result in jobless growth. We will help our people stay relevant in the changing workforce and equip them to use AI safely.

Here, every introduction of automation and AI should be accompanied by verifiable measures to protect the employment, retraining and participation of workers.

So for all the talk about the AI jobs apocalypse, there is simply no strong evidence from either economic history or current economic data that such a thing is happening.

I share the values outlined in the motion – that growth must be inclusive, that every worker matters, and that no one should be left behind in the AI transition.

We cannot slow down the development of AI. But we will not leave its outcomes to chance. We will work hard to secure a different deal, between the companies that prosper here and the workers whose effort makes that prosperity possible. Where companie...

AI must augment workers, not replace them.

But AI can create and will create opportunities that we cannot yet fully imagine. Of course, it will, at the same time, bring about disruptions that we cannot fully foresee.

Technology amplifies human potential. Strategic HR guides that amplification. Ethical frameworks ensure that everyone benefits.

Long term, autonomous business will create more work for humans, not less. Lasting structural factors such as demographic decline and high-stakes, trust-dependent consumer moments will ensure human talent remains central to running, governing and sca...

But this I can promise you: as our economy transforms, we will create new and better jobs. We may not be able to protect every job. But we will protect every worker. Because in Singapore, every worker matters! Bringing about such inclusive growth – t...

I am arguing against the fatalism that treats the permanent underclass idea adopted by some in Jasmine's article as a foregone conclusion, because that framing doesn't just describe a future, it builds political momentum for one.

There is no indication of widespread job displacement. Only 6.2% of firms reported reduced headcount after adopting AI. Instead, firms are redesigning roles (18.9%) and creating new AI-related jobs (13.9%), indicating that AI is primarily transformin...

I can tell you we are hiring just as many software developers as we ever had inside of Amazon. And in fact, I see the demand for that really accelerating. [...] this is not jobs going away.

The whole discourse around a “permanent underclass” always seemed somewhat farcical to me — at best a distraction, at worst an actively harmful meme.

AI does not determine one inevitable future of work.

What makes these conclusions powerful is that they were forged through genuine tripartite dialogue on one of the most complex issues of our time. They show that promoting productivity and fostering workers’ rights and protection are not trade-offs bu...

There will be no permanent underclass because there is no permanent elite.

AI holds enormous promise for improving productivity, expanding opportunity, and enhancing the quality of work. Like past technological innovations—from the Industrial Revolution to the rise of computing—AI has the potential to complement human labor...

The labour market is cooling, but it is not collapsing. And AI is transforming work, not eliminating it.

Working closely with labor partners to ensure that Seattle’s AI future strengthens both our workforce and the communities we serve. AI is a tool to augment staff and service levels, not replace people.

I believe early-career talent is becoming more—not less—critical in an AI-first world. [...] Far from disappearing, entry-level work is being redefined.

This initiative will help demystify AI for American workers. We are seeing AI create new jobs, new levels of productivity, and new forms of entrepreneurship, and we want to make sure all Americans have the skills to share in that prosperity.

The ‘Make America AI-Ready’ initiative is designed to ensure every American worker has the chance to learn foundational skills so they can benefit from the opportunities that the AI economy presents. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department...

There’s suddenly a new possibility, a new opportunity, to go use these tools, learn them, and start your own mini business…Even if there is temporary job displacement to deal with, that sort of glorious future is what we should look forward to.

The Administration wants American workers to participate in and reap the rewards of AI-driven growth, encouraging Congress to further workforce development and skills training programs, expanding opportunities across sectors and creating new jobs in ...

My ambition for New York is to lead the nation in AI innovation with a workforce that’s ready to use AI to their advantage — not be victims of it.

Every part of our strategy on AI is aimed at ensuring that our people have a share in the prosperity that AI can create, through new and better jobs through better more personalised public services.

The City’s approach to AI is centered on augmenting, not replacing, its workforce. AI will be used to assist staff by reducing repetitive tasks, increasing productivity, and enabling employees to focus on higher-value, community-centered work.

AI is going to transform nearly every sector of our economy. The question isn’t whether these changes are coming — it’s whether we are prepared. We need clear-eyed analysis and practical, bipartisan solutions to help workers gain new skills, support ...